Tottenham set to offer Jan Vertonghen £40,000 a week to ward off transfer bid for defender

Tottenham are set to offer a significant wage hike to Jan Vertonghen in a bid to keep the Belgium defender at White Hart Lane.

The 26-year-old has previously hinted he could walk away from Spurs if they fail again to land Champions League football.

Currently Tim Sherwood’s men sit fifth in the Premier League, six points behind Liverpool in the fourth Champions League spot.

But Spurs want to keep Vertonghen, who has been impressive overall since his £12million move from Ajax in the summer of 2012.

To do so they may be forced into dangling the carrot of £40,000-a-week wages at Vertonghen, with the club having the option to extend his contract by another year at the end of this season. His current deal already runs until 2016.

Asked whether he would be happy to stay at Spurs with no Champions League football, he said recently: ‘Those are always difficult questions. What I want is to play in the Champions League with Tottenham so, hopefully, I will get there this year.’

Any suggestion Vertonghen may not sign would open up a host of options from the Premier League and the continent for the player’s services, with an impressive World Cup campaign this summer with his country sure to increase his list of admirers.